


Happy Belated Birthday @Alecto228! (ItaSakuShi for you!)

by moor



Category: Naruto
Genre: Different-massacre-AU?, Humour, Longing, Missing Person AU, Multi, Naruto-verse, Polyamory, Red String of Fate, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:55:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23238808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moor/pseuds/moor
Summary: ItaSakuShi, red string of fate (always finding each other no matter what), Naruto-verse, and a bit of longing, drama, and humour all mixed together in a little package just for you. <3 I hope you had a wonderful birthday!
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Itachi/Uchiha Shisui
Comments: 15
Kudos: 171





	Happy Belated Birthday @Alecto228! (ItaSakuShi for you!)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Alecto228](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alecto228/gifts).



> Happy belated birthday, @Alecto228! Sorry for the delay—I hope you enjoy!

Itachi looked at Sakura when her back stiffened. She was focused on something off in the distance where he knew there was nothing, and he understood her to be avoiding his question.

There was something off about Sakura recently. Her usual easy smiles and quick temper were fraught with tension, her shoulders tight, her intelligent, expressive eyes distracted. With the way her forehead was creased with worry more often than not, her lips pressed together as she lost herself in her thoughts, Itachi had let her be, assuming something personal was bothering her.

But for her to be distracted enough that she let herself get caught in such an obvious evasion was too unlike her, especially on a mission.

“Hm? I thought I saw something, but it must have been a shadow,” added Sakura absently.

“I asked you how your energy levels were. You’re flagging,” said Itachi.

“I’m fine.”

Around them the snowstorm worsened, the winds howling and whipping at their cloaks, their boots leaking, the icy melt nipping at their toes and feet. The whiteness around them was blinding, and Itachi, against Sakura’s earlier advice, turned on his Sharingan to scout around them for shelter. While night itself was hours away, darkness was already dimming their surroundings. 

“This way,” said Itachi, changing course.

“No, south is faster. We’re supposed to report in at—”

Itachi ignored Sakura’s protests and ploughed off in an easterly direction, knowing Sakura would follow those orders, at least. 

“Something wrong, captain,” asked Sakura through clenched teeth.

“You are not well,” said Itachi. “We’re going to rest before we continue on through the storm.”

“I’m fine—”

“Then why are your chakra levels at half when they should be nearly full?”

Sakura remained silent, plodding on at Itachi’s side. Within an hour or so, she fell behind, as he’d expected, and followed in his footprints. By the time they reached the shelter, Sakura’s pace had slowed further, and her breathing was hard, almost panting at times.

“Stay here,” ordered Itachi as they reached the treeline outside the cabin. 

Too tired to argue, Sakura nodded, crouching down and leaning against the tree. Her chakra levels were falling steadily and she struggled to keep her eyes open.

When Itachi finished securing the ANBU emergency shelter, he found Sakura slumped over asleep, snow rapidly burying her beneath the scented pine tree’s broad boughs.

* * *

The sound and smell of the fire tickled Sakura’s nose when she woke the next morning. Curled up under thick, warm blankets, she yawned and pulled them closer, stretching before opening her eyes to look around.

“Feeling better?” asked Itachi from beside the fire.

Sakura nodded sleepily, pushing herself up a bit. Her stomach roiled in protest and she closed her eyes, focusing her breathing until it settled.

“How far along?” asked Itachi.

Sakura sighed.

“You’re going to ground me,” she muttered in a gravely voice, rubbing at her eyes. “How long was I out?”

“At least fourteen hours,” said Itachi. “How far along?”

Sakura winced at the forced distance in Itachi’s voice.

“Four months, give or take,” said Sakura. “I’m normally fine. I plan to stay in the field until I hit about month six or seven, and then… stay put for a while.”

Itachi was quiet, stirring a pot over the fire. It smelled like rice porridge, and Sakura was grateful for the bland food. Pushing herself up to sitting and wrapping the blankets around her shoulders, she looked around. The snowstorm continued outside, letting in feeble light and a faint chill, but overall the cabin was well-appointed. The rafters above them were packed with supplies, the cupboards and drawers were laid out in a standard ANBU fashion so she could guess where to find blankets and spare uniforms. Off to the side, there was a narrow hallway where she assumed the bathroom facilities were located.

The bed she lay upon was firm and comfortable, more serviceable than she’d been expecting. Pushing down on her with her hand, she realized there were two sleeping mats beneath her, between her and the usual futon. She looked over at Itachi again, who watched her carefully.

“You’ve known for a while, then,” he said softly.

Her lips pressed together, Sakura nodded.

“Does the father know?” asked Itachi. “No one has been acting any the wiser in Konoha, or ANBU.”

“He does now, I think,” said Sakura, biting her cheek.

Itachi’s hand froze on the ladle. His chest rose and fell quickly, his face masking his emotions.

“Which one?” asked Itachi softly.

Letting out a soft sigh, Sakura hunched forward in her blanket burrito. Unable to help herself, she chuckled. “Well, going by how the morning sickness has been, I think there’s a good chance you each did.”

Itachi’s eyes were wide as he stared at Sakura.

“Still early, but so far it looks like twins,” admitted Sakura. “You saw when you changed my clothes. The bump’s more than a little obvious now. The lab coat usually covers it on my hospital rounds, or my cloak when I’m on ANBU missions. Once we hit warmer weather again, though, it will be obvious in my usual uniform.”

The dumbstruck nature of Itachi’s silence was so out of character that Sakura gave him a wry smile.

“Do you think there’s any chance of us finding him… before my six months come?” she asked quietly.

“Yes,” vowed Itachi without pause. “He’ll be there.”

Sakura’s smile was shaky as Itachi stood and joined her on the bed, taking her in his arms.

“We’ll find him. I promise.” 

“Thank you for not sending me back. I need to tell him, too. I wanted to tell you both at the same time, but I’m running low on freedom,” chuckled Sakura. 

“He went missing before he could have known. This is something that he will crawl over fire to protect, Sakura. We both will.”

“I don’t need protecting.”

“Hn,” soothed Itachi, rubbing her back. “How does rice porridge with sweet potatoes and chicken sound, and then a nap?”

“... with cuddles?”

“Hn.”

“... we could stay an extra day before we set out again,” agreed Sakura as Itachi kissed her forehead and rose to serve them each a bowl of food. “And we’ll plan where else we can look for Shisui,” she added, blowing over the hot congee Itachi offered her.

“Ah,” agreed Itachi. 

Two months. They had two months left—together—to find Shisui and bring him home.

… Give or take.

* * *

  
“Sakura,” said Itachi calmly.

“Hn,” said Sakura. After so long spent together, she had picked up certain quirks from her fiancé and captain.

“Could you please climb down from the tree and come eat some lunch?”

“I brought lunch up with me,” said Sakura, holding out the ration protein bar and bag of apple slices. She kept her scope in place as she scoured the skyline of the city they approached. It was night and the night-vision goggles allowed her to see for miles.

—which was why she avoided looking at Itachi and his no doubt disapproving expression as she and her seven and a half month wide belly remained up the tree, scouting for Shisui.

It was lunch at night as they had been forced to travel during the cover of darkness for the last month. The nation that had kidnapped Shisui while he’d been on a mission had erased nearly their entire trail, until Sakura got word of a group of missing-nin that captured other nin as slaves and forced them into underground fighting rings.

Rumour had it, there was a particularly scrappy nin with dark curly hair and a Konoha ANBU tattoo.

Anytime they had gotten close, however, the ring had gone to ground and disappeared. Sakura had become so frustrated at the last missed chance to find them that she had broken down in tears before destroying the entire building.

_ “A touch hormonal today?” _

_ “No, I don’t think so, why?” _

_ “Hn.” _

The incident had been a boon, however, in some ways. And perhaps explained why Shisui had not freed himself yet.

“Surgical equipment,” said Sakura as they picked through the rubbish.

Itachi nodded, his thoughts grim.

“Do you think they’re harvesting from the losers?”  
  
“Possibly the winners, too,” said Itachi, noting the posters that had been plastered to the walls about them, offering medically necessary treatments for those who could pay.

“He may not be able to escape without using his Sharingan,” mused Sakura aloud.

“And if they are as strong as they appear, and as organized, he may not want to expose himself for poaching,” agreed Itachi.

Sakura’s fists clenched, the leather of her gloves creaking and straining.

“If they have even tried—”  
  
Itachi’s hand gently covered hers. 

“Together,” he promised.

“If there’s enough left of them,” seethed Sakura, punching one fist into her palm.

Itachi smiled at her fondly.

* * *

It had been a long time since Itachi had physically cringed.

Years.

Possibly close to two decades.

The day Sakura took down the entire ring of kidnapping missing-nin was the day that streak ended. Also, his gag-reflex could be far more active than he’d ever given it credit for.

As his beloved Sakura tore through the throats of the captors, hissing, “WHERE’SSSS MY SSSSHISSSSUI…” her tongue appeared forked, her hair maniacal, and her now eight-and-a-half month wide belly encased in a protective chakra barrier she’d erected when someone had stupidly aimed their sword at her and she’d taken some offense to it, Itachi hurried after Sakura with a bento and a heating pad. She was going to be furiously hungry after this, he just knew it. And her back was going to be killing her.

“Remember to pace yourself,” said Itachi. Their birth plan and hospital bag were tucked inside a scroll he kept close at all times, and he had memorized the location of every hospital within a hundred kilometers. Just in case, he also kept a bootleg copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” in another scroll.

“Shisui!” screamed Sakura, Very Focused. “Are you here?”

“Sakura?” called a distant voice.

“Shisui!”

“Itachi!”

“Sakur—you’re… you’re…”

“Beautiful,” prompted Itachi quickly. “And strong.”

Shisui’s head whipped around to look at Itachi as Sakura physically tore the bars of his cell apart with her bare hands.

“So strong,” breathed Shisui in awe, his eyes filling. He reached for them both, and Sakura yanked him forward and over her shoulder.

“We’re getting out of here,” declared Sakura. “Hold on.”

“Uh, Sakura—” began Shisui, eyes wide, only to catch sight of Itachi subtly shaking his head at him as they raced outside the building. Itachi freed as many other slaves as he could as they escaped, trying not to look too hard at the remnants of Sakura’s earlier devastation.

“Can you run?” asked Sakura when they were five kilometers outside the city.

“Uh, if you put me down…”

“Oh. Right. Sure, let me just…”

Her words trailed off uncertainly as Shisui climbed down and reached for her.

“Sakura,” asked Itachi uneasily.

Sakura’s expression wobbled as she looked up at Itachi and Shisui, biting her lip, almost apologetic.

“... my water broke.”

“But you’re only eight-and-a-half months!” exclaimed Itachi.

“What? No! You shouldn’t be out on a mission! Itachi, what is wrong with—” interrupted Shisui, only for Itachi, wide-eyed, to stop and add, “Wait, no, that’s right, because it’s twins! They come early!”

“You're—We’re having twins?!” gaped Shisui.

“There’s a lot to catch up on,” said Sakura calmly. “After.”

“After,” repeated Itachi numbly.

“After,” said Shisui firmly. He immediately lifted Sakura in his arms and looked at Itachi. “Nearest safehouse versus nearest hospital.”

“Safehouse four kilometers, hospital ten.”

“To the safehouse it is,” said Shisui, nodding at Itachi who immediately took the lead.

“I can walk—”

“The kids could drop out, no,” said Shisui. 

Itachi cringed and ran faster.

* * *

A month later, when the group returned to Konoha, they were met at the gates by a very confused Izumo and Kotetsu.

“It says two of you left,” said Izumo, looking at Sakura and Itachi.

“But now five of you came back,” said Kotetsu, counting each with his finger. “Yep. Not two. Definitely five.”

Itachi and Shisui, each with a baby nestled snugly in a sling across their chest, looked at the pair of chunin patiently.

“We brought back Shisui, our primary mission goal,” said Sakura.

“That’s three,” agreed Kotetsu.

“Sakura had twins,” said Shisui.

“That makes five,” agreed Kotetsu, before freezing. “Wait. Sakura had twins?”

“Time for us to make that mission report to the Hokage,” said Sakura quickly, ushering Shisui, Itachi and the boys through the gates before Kotetsu attempted any unfortunate calculations. “See you later!”

“Yeah, uh, thank you! Welcome back!”

“Congratulations!” called Izumo, before Kotetsu whacked him on the back of the head. 

“Shhhh, they have babies!”

“Oh, right. Congratulations….” stage-whispered Izumo.

“That went better than expected,” admitted Shisui as they went to the Tower.

“That was the easy part,” said Sakura as she saw the messenger nin flying over the rooftops above them to reach Tsunade first. 

“We’re right beside you,” said Shisui, wrapping an arm around Sakura.

“Forever,” said Itachi, doing the same from the opposite side.

Sakura nodded, straightening her back.

As they entered the Tower, she tilted her head to the side. “So, after this, who’s place is considered ‘home’?”

“We’ll consolidate,” said Shisui, Itachi nodding. 

“Assuming we live,” added Itachi.

“Ah,” said Sakura as they reached the top floor. The floor already vibrated with the Hokage’s anger. With a sigh, Sakura popped open a tab on her vest and pulled out a scroll before releasing the crates of luxury saké they had smuggled back into the village for this precise purpose. “Ready.”

They stepped inside, facing the enraged Hokage.

All was quiet for a long, tense moment, until—

“Twins?”

“Yes, Shishou.”

“... twin Uchiha babies?”

“Yes, Shishou.”

Tsunade paused, blinking.

“And is that—” (She had turned to the obvious alcoholic bribe.)

“Yes, Shishou.”

(A pause)

“Well done, Sakura,” said Tsunade, clapping her apprentice on the shoulder. “Go home and take a year off. You just brought back four Uchihas. That’s more new Uchihas than this village has produced in a generation.” She turned to the gentlemen in question. “I trust you will also need some parental leave?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.”

“Which one?”

Silence.

Tsunade looked at Sakura, whose neck burned but who remained stubbornly silent.

Shaking her head and looking impressed and decidedly non-judgemental, Tsunade waved them out.

“So that’s why the Uchiha birthrate doubled,” muttered Tsunade to herself as the door closed behind the new family. “They mate in pairs…”

* * *

**THE END**


End file.
